Chance Meetings
by Buckie
Summary: Permanent Hiatus.
1. Tea Shop

Standard Disclaimer

Chance Meeting

#1: Tea Shop

He wasn't a naturally happy person. It just didn't…work with him.

It wasn't like he was depressed or anything, just…tired.

Extremely, extremely tired.

Ah, the troubles on his mind.

His own brother's company had gone down, and as his younger brother and the best lawyer in Japan, he was to defend the stupid bastard. His father had decided that instead of helping his son with the bundle of cases he had now, he would _retire _and _hand the law firm over to his younger son earlier_.

To top that off, his mother had decided enough was enough and until Sasuke was to proclaim that he was gay, he was to marry some girl so she could have some stupid _grandchildren._

Ah, did he mention that he _hated children?_

Look, he wasn't being a Grinch, there are just some people who say they hate children and some people who would rather just sit there and smile, pretending that they _do._

How freaking stupid was that?

Sasuke stopped in front of the tea shop, looking down on the list that his mother gave him.

She was probably the only person in the whole island of Japan that made a list for tea…

He reluctantly entered the tea shop. _It's probably going to eat me…_

A little bell hidden deep inside the store rang, its sound echoing throughout the store, announcing his entrance.

The store was simple enough. Clean floors and wall, the aisle neat and ready to be walked through. The tiled floor beneath him and his shoes came together in a click, click sound.

The skin beneath his eyes twitched. No one was at the counter when he stopped there. He began to tap his foot impatiently; he didn't have time for this!

The little bead curtain a little left to the curtain jingled, and suddenly, there was a young boy in front of him. He couldn't have been more than six or seven years old.

Sasuke hated kids.

He glared at this…child and to his surprise…

The child gave a wry stare in return. He was…unusual for a kid. He was calm and seemed to observe Sasuke very carefully, as if checking if Sasuke was a threat.

Sasuke didn't mind a kid who knew what he was doing.

"Can I help you, sir?" The child asked. His voice was clear in the store. Sasuke nodded.

"I need these items. I'm sure you can help me," Sasuke replied. He handed the child the rather long list and he made a motion for Sasuke to follow him.

The child led him around the room and showed him all the items. During this time, Sasuke looked him over, wondering how on earth this child was so…calm. He had violet colored hair and sharp blue eyes.

In truth, the kid was starting to creep him out.

"Sir would you like peach or lemon flavor?" he asked flatly. Sasuke pointed numbly to the peach.

His mother would wine if he brought home lemon iced tea.

"Your wife's choice I suppose?" The child asked. Sasuke blinked. Was he making small talk?

"I don't have a wife…thankfully," Sasuke mumbled the last part and was surprised to see the child snicker.

"Good choice. From my experience, getting married is one of the most stupid things a man could do," the child said dryly. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk and follow the boy as he went to another aisle, the basket the boy was holding slowly filling up.

"What experience would you have?" Sasuke asked. The boy did not falter. He grinned and shrugged.

"The worst kind. My mother and father were supposed to renew their vows today and my mom actually ran away from the wedding…" the boy was squinting at something on the jar of tea.

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle.

"Would it still work if you ran away from a wedding that already took place?" Sasuke asked. The boy laughed along with him.

"Well, it was an effort. I love my mom and dad but I don't think my dad deserves mom. He's in love with another woman after all. I'm glad he never acted on his emotions but I still don't understand why he would not love my mom," the boy explained. "This is the last item on the list. I think we have it all."

Sasuke nodded and they both headed back to the counter.

"Well, then, if your mom really is one that anyone can fall in love with, I guess your father is deaf, blind, and stupid then," Sasuke stated. The boy smirked.

"Sadly, you couldn't be more right," he replied. Sasuke looked at the shelves behind the boy and suddenly asked something he would regret very soon.

"So if your mother is this…loveable, would I fall in love with her if I saw her?" Sasuke asked.

What the hell was that?

The boy smirked. That smirk looked very similar…

"Just watch and see."

The beads jingled again and this time, a sniffling young woman came out. She was wearing a wedding dress that was grass stained at the edges. Her hair was let down and curled at the edges. Mascara had obviously been dripping from her face a moment before.

And yet he had a hard time averting his pitch black eyes from her pearly white ones.

Said pearly white eyes widened.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't know you were still here! Err, um, I'll go now!" The woman hurried back into the back room, her face flushed.

That did not help his situation.

Sasuke turned his face to the side and coughed, trying to hide his slight blush.

The boy was smirking. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Don't tease, it's mean," Sasuke mumbled. The boy let out a chuckle.

"I don't tease people who had just cheered up my day. What's your name?" The boy asked, handing Sasuke his receipt. Sasuke couldn't help a small smile.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uzumaki Akio."

Sasuke smirked and they shook hands.

"Take care of your mother."

"Will do."

When Sasuke stepped out of the shop, he decided he only hated _some _kids.

Meeting #1: End.

**A/N: **Man, I had so much fun writing this.

Note: "Akio" means "bright man".

**Thank you for reading!**


	2. Detention

Standard Disclaimer

Chance Meetings

#2: Detention

She was so scared.

It was her first day at this school and…she already got detention!

Father would surely kill her.

Or maybe he'd just kick her out of the house.

Whatever favors him at the moment.

Hinata shifted uncomfortable in her seat, the only one in the small, stuffy detention room. The light streamed in from the huge, traditional Japanese high school windows and Hinata couldn't help but squirm again.

The silver haired man who was in charge of detention decided she was too ugly and he would rather just stand watch outside the door. She walked into the room and immediately, he stood up, took his book and a folding chair and sat right outside the door.

She just stood in the middle of the room for five minutes before she collapsed into a seat.

Hinata sat in the first seat of the first row, right next to the window. She began thinking of that blond boy in her World History class…he made her sit right next to him and talk to him the whole class time because she was new.

Hinata blushed and covered her face in embarrassment.

He was cute.

She barely bit back a girly squeal. Hyuuga girls do not squeal.

Hinata could imagine clearly Hanabi mock waving her finger at her.

"You know…in this school, we consider people who cry then laugh then start blushing like an idiot to be weird."

Hinata jumped right out of her seat on onto the floor.

_Smooth move Hinata._

"Huh? Um, err, I'm sorry, I was just--," Hinata stuttered, waving her arms in front of her as if to put up a defense. The boy rose an eyebrow.

Hinata coughed. And sat down, deciding that pretending he wasn't there would be the best way to get through these last two hours of detention.

Besides, if he was in detention he couldn't be the type of person she wanted to hang around with. With the gangs and the shootings and the brothels…

What was she thinking!

Hinata fixed her gaze on the sunset, absolutely sure not to give the boy any evidence that she knew he was there.

"You're going to ignore me now?" the boy asked, a sneer in his voice. Hinata bit back a mean retort.

"I didn't think we were allowed to talk during detention," Hinata replied softly, not looking back at him.

"Who are you acting so goody for? Hatake? He's outside," the boy spoke again. Hinata sighed, tired from the whole day.

"Why are you so intent in talking to me?" Hinata asked, finally turning her attention to him. She had to blink a couple times.

The boy was handsome, and obviously a delinquent, but he looked so…

Tired?

He had dark hair, dark eyes, dark everything!

Including the bags under his eyes…

The boy snapped at her. "What the hell is wrong with you? Staring at me like I'm a freak…"

Hinata looked startled and waved her arms again and shook her head.

"No! I was just noticing that you looked tired! I mean, err--," Hinata stuttered again. What was wrong with this guy? He seemed to bring out the worst in her.

"So you didn't read the news? About the massacre." The boy deadpanned. Hinata rose her eyebrows.

"Huh?"

The boy chuckled bitterly, looking away from her.

"Gomen."

The boy stopped suddenly.

"What are you apologizing for?" he asked softly. His voice was coarse and rough. Hinata gulped and inhaled deeply.

"I'm apologizing because someone out there that hurt you didn't say sorry. So I'm saying it for them," Hinata said softly.

_Kami, how cheesy was that? _

The boy blinked. He nodded slowly.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke." A hand was thrusted out and Hinata slowly shook it.

"Hyuuga Hinata."

The hand did not let go and instead pulled her to the window. Hinata's eyes widened when Sasuke hopped on the window sill and pushed the window open.

"W-what are you doing?" Hinata tried to take her hand away from him but he simply smirked and held on firmly.

"We're escaping," he replied. Hinata squealed a bit and tried to wrench her fingers from him.

"No! Hatake-sensei is outside and h-he won't let us!" Hinata said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"He's outside _because _he wants us to escape. Leave. Whatever," Sasuke mumbled. Hinata's jaw dropped.

"Huh? What? B-But--," Hinata said. "We're in the forth floor! We can't jump!"

Sasuke smirked.

"Trust me."

They jumped.

Meeting #2: End

**A/N: **Short and sweet.

Note: I have a feeling a lot of people mistook the last chapter as a continuing story. Let me clarify; **this is a collection of one-shots**. All of them AU.

So, sadly, I'm not going to be continuing "Tea Shop".

It wouldn't be named "Chance Meetings" if they didn't only have one "chance" and one "meeting" right?

**Thank you for reading!**


	3. Library

Standard Disclaimer

Chance Meetings

#3: Library

It was a well known fact that Uchiha Sasuke was a rather smart boy.

It is also a well known fact that his national fan club would trample over you in seconds if you called him just a "smart boy".

He was handsome, in a peeved, dark way, and he had a brain behind that pretty face. In addition to a pretty face and a pretty mind, he had a pretty nice wallet. His family was rich (his fan club would call this the understatement of the year) and because of his brother being a mass murderer currently in jail, he most certainly didn't have to share.

When you have looks and brains and money, you also get something a bit negative to balance things out.

What you get is simple: arrogance.

But like everything Uchiha Sasuke does, it is the best. He had the best looks (voted "Emo Boy" of the year) best brains and best _arrogance_. Well, you can't call it best when it's something bad like arrogance.

So let us say Uchiha Sasuke is the most arrogant person in the whole island of Japan and every nearest country around it.

So, when a brilliant arrogant man goes to the top Japanese college's library and is looking through the books shelves to find a text book that is so old it is only found in libraries and he just _can't find the book _we have a problem.

_What the hell?_

The young man strolled through the many books sitting upon the shelves.

He silently cursed at this library.

Why did it have to have four floors? Why did each floor have to have at least 100 bookcases the size of Godzilla? And with those bookcases at least 60 books to one _shelf_?

He should have gone to community college.

The book that Sasuke was hunting for was a very, very old med book.

Sasuke was studying to become a surgeon, the best in Japan in fact, and his professor, the only one who wasn't all that impressed with him, sent him on a wild goose chase after a book written by some Tsunade hag…

What was really interesting was how Sasuke was wondering why the heck Jiraiya was more interested with the blond haired clown in their class who magically got into med school then he was in him.

Truly interesting, really.

What made him even more peeved was the fact that the blond idiot found the book before him.

This added to his frustration.

Before he could think any longer, he collided books first into a small body.

"Ugh…" Sasuke mumbled, rubbing his aching head.

"A-ah, gomen! I-I'm so sorry!" the young woman apologized. She looked honestly worried.

The ever so handsome Sasuke wondered if she was stuttering because she was one of his fan girls.

It just goes to show that rich, handsome, brilliant men have no modesty whatsoever.

"Why the hell are you apologizing for?" Sasuke grumbled underneath his breath. The young woman was sniffling and Sasuke looked up in amazement to see she was _welling up with tears_.

You have got to be kidding.

Sasuke was going to bolt and run (he hated woman and he hated crying) until he noticed that one of the books she was picking up looked really familiar. He glanced at the scribbles on the paper on his hand and finally realized that that book was Tsuande hag's book.

"Give that to me."

The young girl blinked and only then did Sasuke notice he odd, nearly pearly white eyes.

He almost faltered. Almost.

"Give that book to me."

The young girl blinked again and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and picked up the book he wanted and held it firmly to her chest…

Then she ran.

Lucky for Sasuke, he had lightning fast reflexes and he quickly caught her wrist.

She looked at him with wide, teary eyes.

God, this was the first time he ever felt like he kicked a puppy. A cute, adorable puppy with cancer and five months to live.

What was this feeling called again?

Ah, yes, guilt.

Say hello to an old friend.

Sasuke sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Look, I've been looking everywhere for that book," with those words he pointed to the crumbling brown book and continued. "Could you just give it to me?"

Surely, Sasuke thought, this girl couldn't be in his class. She didn't really _need _the book.

The girl blinked slowly at him and he had a sudden feeling she wasn't one of his fan girls.

This girl was looking at him as if he was the slimiest, selfish, disgusting thing that ever crawled the planet.

"A-ano, Uchiha-san…I need this book too. Jiraiya-sensei told the whole class to get it," the girl spoke slowly.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched.

She knew his name?

Was she mocking him?

"B-but I can get you the book! There are still dozens left on the book shelf on the first floor!"

And so, Sasuke and Hinata found that apparently, the dozens of books that she saw was quickly picked off the shelf by the other 43 students in the class.

This led to Sasuke and Hinata sharing a book in a 5 hour long class every Wednesday, Thursday and Monday.

Meeting #3: End.

**A/N: **Did you know that I always wanted to have a romantic encounter in the library?

Yup, I'm that much of a nerd.

Ah, by the way, in Meeting #2, Hinata got detention in Orochimaru's class because she squealed out loud when a spitball hit her from behind. Sasuke sure is evil, eh?

**Thank you for reading! **


	4. Bathroom

Standard Disclaimer

Chance Meetings

#4: Bathroom

She felt like crying.

Yes, Hyuuga Hinata did feel like crying about eighty percent of her day and most of the time for the smallest reasons, but this one was the mother load of it all.

Hyuuga Hinata was trapped in the bathroom.

Well…not exactly trapped.

It had been a long day at the dental office. Apparently, all the children in a 100 mile radius of Uzumaki Dental decided that hey, why don't I just get a cavity today?

She blamed Captain Crunch for her misery now.

To cheer her up, Sakura had taken her out to a posh restaurant with marble floors and chandeliers…

Ugh, now she was reminded of how Sakura was a brain surgeon and she was a freaking dentist. She didn't even get her own dentist office! She worked underneath another dentist!

Not that she didn't like Naruto-kun…

Back to the point. Hinata finished her dinner and decided to go to the bathroom to freshen up.

Only when she walked in, she saw urinals.

_Urinals._

Yes, Hinata had walked into the men's room.

A man was coming out of the stall so she walked straight into a stall to hide.

And now she was trapped.

Why?

Because she was wearing heels and the restaurant had marble floors. The man coming out of the stall had heard her.

And was currently frozen outside of her door.

_Go away! Go away, dang it!_

The man finally turned around and began washing his hands. Hinata held back a sigh of relief.

Geez, he was taking forever to wash his hands! Finally, Hinata heard the sound of the electric hand dryer click on…

Then off.

Hinata let out a small sigh and held back on jumping up and down.

She was still in her heels after all.

She was still scared though. What if the man was still there? She would wait she heard the door.

_CREAK!_

Hinata did a little dance inside her little stall and slammed the door open with renewed happiness.

Thank god!

Hinata did her little happy dance outside her stall now, her heels clicking without a thought.

_Creak. _

Hinata froze and turned around to see another man emerge from the stall.

He had the most shocked look plastered on his face. Hinata flushed and fixed her trousers and her scrubs.

She slowly went to the sink and began washing her hands. The man appeared next to her, washing his hands too.

An awkward silence settled between them.

_God, kill me now!_

To top that off, the man was pretty good looking…

Hinata quickly shook her head to rid herself of those thought and dried her hands with the electric dryer. The man appeared next to her again, pulling out coarse brown little napkins from the dispenser.

Hinata rushed to the door.

Five more steps…

Two more steps…

Her hand on the door handle…

"You're a girl," came a voice behind her. Hinata reluctantly turned around to meet those pitch black eyes.

Holy cow, this guy was scary.

"Aha…I kinda…went in the wrong…yeah…" Hinata mumbled nervously, the door handle's cool surface contrasting with her sweaty hands.

She quickly made her escape.

Before the door closed behind her she heard a single statement that bothered her for the next couple weeks.

"Ah, I knew it. You're too beautiful to be a cross dresser."

Meeting #4: End.

**A/N: **Short and funny. Gosh, this was so fun. XD

**Thank you for reading!**


	5. Benches

Standard Disclaimer

Chance Meetings

#5: Benches

Normally, Tokyo's streets would be brimming with people. Whether it was a stressed business man rushing to work, briefcase swinging wildly at his side, or a nervous busboy, riding a bicycle haphazardly through the streets, keen on delivering the sloppy fast food.

During the day, the sun would hit the tall buildings at an angle where everything seemed to glitter. No one would notice. During the night, Tokyo seemed most alive, lights everywhere, colors splattered across the street, buildings, everywhere. Still no one would notice.

They had places to go, things to do. Who cared about the lights, the sounds? Who cared that if you went into the right district, the right friendly neighborhood, everyone would welcome you with open arms? Who cared that if you went in the rich district, the _wrong _district, everyone was cold, careless money makers?

Who cared about Tokyo?

There were a few people who wandered out late at night, enjoying the lights, the sounds, the _people_. Not during midnight, when all the business men and women came home, stressed from a day's and night's work. Not even a couple hours afterwards when the troublemaking teens came out. It was that peaceful moment between the crack of dawn and the brink of night when the world took a minute to just…take a breath.

All the excitement, the tiredness, the killing, the loving, the happiness, the sadness, the _feeling_…it stopped for a moment to rest.

This is when she would come out.

She would walk along the busy streets that weren't so busy before. She would enjoy what little was left of the lights and the sounds and the people.

It wasn't a lot, but it was enough. Enough to get her by, to keep her alive.

However…

This was not the day to walk around Tokyo.

This was just not the day.

"Christmas Eve…" she whispered to herself. Who else was there? She smiled bitterly.

She did not wish for her family to come and comfort her, to actually embrace the holiday spirit. The maids in her father's mansion tried to hide the coldness with a large, impractical Christmas tree, and somehow, they managed to make it worse.

She couldn't breath in that house.

So she went out for a walk.

Yes, she was walking around at 3:54 AM with nothing but a thin cardigan and hoodie on. Yes, she was in jeans. And yes, it was snowing.

_Where's your knight when you need one?_

But hell, she felt better than the last few days, jammed with business meetings and lectures on her future. Jammed with all the feelings of hurt, disappointment, and wishful thinking.

Hinata took a deep, sharp breath of fresh air, the air cold enough to clear her lungs but not pierce it.

She walked to the large town square, normally too packed for her to venture into. A large Christmas tree was displayed in the middle, small bushes surrounding it.

She liked this one better.

It had what seemed like a million light bulbs, and a thousand ornaments.

It glowed, even now, at 3:56 AM.

But most importantly, it was imperfect.

Why?

Because apparently, the Christmas tree stand was a little lopsided so the whole thing managed to tilt to the left…

It looked funny, it was funny, and Hinata was surprised they hadn't changed the stand yet.

Maybe to embrace the Christmas spirit?

Hinata sighed, and resigned to a small, bus stop bench. She wasn't waiting for a bus, she knew better than that, but she was tired, and it was a bench.

She began thinking of all the things she had done this year.

She was bitterly disappointed.

Disappointed father, check.

Disappointed myself, check.

Fell in love, check.

Confessed to love…check.

Was completely crushed when said love did not love back…check.

Fell out of love…

Hinata blinked.

She'd leave that open.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Hinata looked up to see and elderly old man, dressed in rags, with shoes not even fit for a dog. He looked like a hobo, a bum…but…

He had an aura. And aura of wisdom…of "I-know-much-more-than-you-think-I-do".

She slid over the bench, and the old man sat beside her.

Hinata quietly observed him.

White hair, white eyebrows, a bit of scuff which was white and gray…

_Santa?_

Hinata blinked.

He was really skinny though…hobo skinny…not "a bowl full of jelly" type of stomach.

She needed to get out more…and needed to stop wishing for Christmas miracles.

Still…something was strange about how even though he was a hobo he smelled like…

Peppermint and chocolate.

Maybe he robbed a candy store.

Hinata blinked again.

"Little miss, if you keep staring I'm going to keep blushing."

Hinata blushed and the man smiled.

He turned and observed her for a while and she found it hard not to return his gaze. It was…warm. Like the ones her grandpa gave her…before he died.

"You know…it's not good to be sad on Christmas. I heard it gives you twice the wrinkles." He suddenly took a thermos out of the blue and began sipping.

"It's not Christmas…it's Christmas Eve…" Hinata said quietly. She watched as snow began to fall again.

"Oh…but it is. 5:00 AM. It's been Christmas for five hours now. And you've been looking sad for five hours."

She thought it was strange that he knew she was sad for five hours, but did not question his sources. His presence calmed her, much more that her father's ever did.

"Maybe I have something worth making me look sad," she replied bitterly.

He frowned lightly.

"Nothing is ever worth making anyone look sad. However…there are always things that are worth making you look happy," he smiled, sipping his hot cocoa.

Hinata blinked. "Like what?"

He grinned. Maybe he knew that she was going to ask that. Maybe he knew more than she could ever imagine. All she knew was that the next part changed her life more than ever.

"That."

He pointed behind her, to the rising sun.

Hinata blinked, quickly, rapidly.

It was silent for a moment, and all she could feel was his warm hands on her shoulders.

"I-I…I never stayed this late before…" Hinata whispered, fingers lightly touching her lips. A chuckle drifted from behind her.

"You were missing out on this…and on someone…"

"What?"

Hinata swiftly turned around, finding nothing but a thermos and a note.

The man's warmth was still on her shoulders, a weight was left there as if _he _was still there.

She slowly read the note out loud.

_He comes home every morning at five. He sits at this exact bench to think. Give him this thermos to keep him warm for me would you?_

"Excuse me?" Hinata turned around and met eyes with a business man with very, very dark eyes…

"Have you seen an old man, looks like a hobo, kinda freakishly nice?"

Meeting #5: Ended.

**A/N: **Merry Christmas. Part two will come on…someday before Christmas?


	6. Benches 2

Standard Disclaimer

Chance Meetings

#6: Benches

When you are born into a wealthy, well-known family, your life will most definitely be mapped out for you. What you will do, who you will be, what you are at the moment; it will be planned to the most intricate detail. You had no choice but to follow what is mapped out for you, because otherwise, you are deemed a failure.

The some who escape this, escape the pressure, escape the fact that they cared what their families though, they are honestly the happiest people around that you will ever find. They know exactly who they are; they are comfortable with their lives. Because they know that _they _made their lives, _they _messed up, _they _succeeded.

However, some are still forced to live that life set out before them, and they never escape it.

Which is a shame.

He is completely aware that he can break away from his father's company, his mother's expectations, and from everything that burdens him in general.

But Uchiha Sasuke is no quitter.

He will conquer his fears, this pain, this disappointment, and he will be the first person to have his life set out for him, and live that life fully, _happily_.

It would be like him flipping off all those elders that held that power over him.

But…

Right now, Sasuke was not happy. Yet. He led a very successful life, but to be happy in that life…it was a whole different story. Yeah, he was the CEO of a couple companies (a big pain in the ass, that's what it was) and he was a multi-millionaire, but what's the point when everyone around you is so…

Let's just say Sasuke needed to vent.

And he found a place to vent.

It was dirty and common and certainly no place for a rich, sought after man such as himself.

It was a good thing he didn't see himself as a rich, sought after man.

He would have never met her.

She wasn't the first person he saw at "his place".

The first was an annoying old bum, preaching about world peace and good health and all that crap.

But the bum made some pretty good hot chocolate. And, for some reason, Sasuke enjoyed telling the old man all his troubles. For a bum, he sure knew all the answers to all Sasuke's questions.

It was odd, but Sasuke continued going there and so did the bum.

The one night the bum didn't come was the night he met her.

He thought she was a substitute or something.

"Ah, a hobo? I-I think I was just talking to one right now…" she answered. Sasuke rose an eyebrow.

"You think?" he asked. When the young woman just blushed and turned away, holding a thermos, Sasuke decided he would just not vent today. He could handle it. He was a man.

"H-hai."

"Mm…" Sasuke replied, collapsing into the space beside her, previously occupied by a certain hobo.

"A-ano…what a-are you still d-doing here?" The girl stuttered into the morning air. It was so early; the birds haven't even woken up yet.

Sasuke frowned. "What are you doing here? This is my spot. Why should I go?"

The girl blushed, and decided to shut up for a while.

"Y-your spot?" She asked. Sasuke suddenly felt the earge to choke this girl.

"Yes, my spot. Why are you asking so many questions?" Sasuke snapped at her, shutting her up the second time.

A long, hardly comfortable silence settled over them.

Okay, now he was pissed.

"You're a Hyuuga," he stated dumbly, finally noticing her eyes.

She looked a bit shocked for a moment, and then nodded slowly. "Ah, y-yes…you're an Uchiha…"

He nodded.

"If you're a Hyuuga, then why are you so damn shy?" Sasuke asked. He did mean to sound mean…

Well, maybe he did. It was Christmas and his role of the Grinch needed to be filled sometime today…

The girl looked a bit offended, but that passed quite quickly, and soon, she was back to embarrassed blushes and shameful glances. She was really annoying him right now.

"I don't m-mean to come off a-as shy…it's not m-my fault the Hyuuga is so stoic and cold…" she mumbled to herself. Despite her efforts, Sasuke heard her little comment.

"Psh…do you know any company that has a remotely sane person as its CEO?" Sasuke asked with a scoff. _He was a CEO…ah, whatever. _

"Ah…I think Uzumaki Naruto-san is sane…his father raised him well I guess…" the girl shuffled her feet, not noticing the dreamy smile that crossed her face.

Sasuke did. He also noticed that the first sentence she said with no stuttering was the sentence that mentioned his arch-nemesis…

Not exactly arch-nemesis…they still weren't best buds though, despite what Sakura said.

"You in love with the guy?" Sasuke asked bluntly, yawning a bit. He rubbed his hands together in search of warmth.

The Hyuuga blinked once before fully transforming into a rather sunburned tomato.

Sasuke liked tomatoes.

"N-no! I-I-I don't know w-what y-you're talking a-about!" she shouted, standing up quickly before Sasuke rolled his eyes and pulled her back down into her seat.

The smirk on his face betrayed his "annoyance" with her.

Neither would admit that it was one of the better Christmases they had.

But then, why would they?

The next couple of minutes were filled with little chats about nothing in particular and comfortable silences.

When the girl noticed that people were emerging from buildings, she panicked.

"Ah, I'm sorry, but I have to go! Kami, if father finds out I'm not in bed…" she trailed off, looking hopelessly worried. Sasuke coughed.

"Mm…I need to get home…" he mumbled, standing up and stretching. The girl was currently biting her nails.

"Ah! Ano, the h-hobo told me to give this to you, but I forgot. Sorry!" she explained, quickly handing him the thermos. She turned to rush away, but a hand caught her shoulder.

"What is your name?" he asked, sipping the thermos, looking as if this was the most common thing in the world.

"E-eh?" she asked. With the look he gave her she quickly answered. "Hyuuga Hinata!"

"Ah." He replied, sitting back down and sipping his thermos.

"Yours?" Hinata asked, suddenly curious.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

She nodded in understanding, and quickly rushed off.

A couple minutes later Sasuke stood up, stretched again, and walked in the opposite direction.

The hobo had given Sasuke the hot chocolate to keep warm that day, but it seemed something else had warmed him up first.

Meeting #6: End.

**A/N: **I updated late, I'm sorry, but it was Christmas Eve!

I hoped this help spread a little holiday cheer, either way.

This will be one of the rare one-shots in this collection to be continued; I felt like the last chapter wasn't much of a meeting so I added more.

I hope you like it. :)

**Thank you for reading! **


	7. Mall

Standard Disclaimer

Chance Meetings

#7: Mall

Everyone knows that during the holidays, the malls are a buzzing, busy place of activity. During Christmas, it's even worse. Quiet, docile housewives become evil Dragon Ladies, completely blinded by the luminous sign stating that 80 percent is marked off everything. They rip apart everything, and leave nothing left but scarred, teenage cashiers, vowing to never ever work in a department store again.

It's only natural. It's the holidays after all.

However, after Christmas, for some reason, everything settles down. And the malls become completely deserted. One particular mall is the Golden Leaf Mall. The old perverted gray haired man who owned this mall had a problem grasping the idea that no one would come around after Christmas.

The Golden Leaf Mall wasn't exactly glamorous, but it served its purpose. And being the only mall in Konoha, it was much appreciated. It was busy on weekdays and completely buzzing on weekends. But every year, right after Christmas, before New Year's, it was completely empty.

No kidding.

So, the mall's owner did what was the "not at all cliché and overdone" thing to do.

He planned a countdown. With a disco ball and everything. Right smack in the middle of the mall, in a large area where sofas and tables would stand. Now, a large stage and the ubiquitous disco ball hanging high above, ready to be lowered replaced the sofas and tables.

His plan worked. Apparently, hormonal teenagers cannot resist countdowns. Who knows why?

Hinata didn't plan to be at a countdown. She didn't plan it at all. And she certainly didn't plan to go shoplifting.

Two girls sat before her, one with shockingly bright neon pink hair and one with platinum blond hair. Both were attracting all kinds of attention. One was slurping a slushie, looking a bit bored and the other hyper, barely staying in her seat.

Now Hinata knew how it felt to be held hostage.

"B-but, what's wrong with b-being nice?" Hinata mumbled, her fingers fidgeting. Sakura grinned.

"The problem about being nice is that you miss out on all the fun. Now, the New Year is coming, and you are gonna make a change for the better! We don't mean go all out, but we will have some fun. Tequila slushie?" Ino asked. Hinata quickly shook her head.

"Do I have to?" Hinata cried out. She knew going out with the girls was a bad idea…on New Year's Eve too…

"Yes! You do! Now, after you go into the shop and steal something, anything, we'll get you someone to kiss during the countdown!" Sakura exclaimed, gaining only more looks.

"B-but--," Hinata protested. Ino raised her hand.

"No buts! You will go! At least for today Hinata! Then, later on, you can say, 'I did something exciting once in my life'!" Ino replied.

Hinata sniffed and rubbed her nose.

She couldn't understand why "exciting" had to be "illegal".

Sakura and Ino's ideas were one of the worst types.

Suddenly, Hinata was tugged out of her seat (the pretzel she was eating slipped out of her hand) and pair of hands were thrown in front of her eyes. The three girls squeezed through the sea of people.

"Which shop?"

"I don't know. Just pick one. And hurry up, I'm getting claustrophobic…"

"Oh, we need to start her off easy. How about that?"

"Ooh. Cute. Let's go and buy something after she's done."

_Can't __I__ buy something?_

The hands were removed and then Hinata was thrown into a souvenir shop. She gulped.

"We're watching so don't buy anything."

Hinata blinked and walked slowly through the shop. The soft red carpeting muffled her steps and she peeked at the shelves. A souvenir shop? Hinata thought it was a little impractical. Konoha was a small town. Why would anyone buy a souvenir from here?

Ah, she had worse thing on her hands.

The store was cozy and small, but that scary, dark haired man was ruining the atmosphere…

In truth, the shop held a lot of things that Hinata would have loved to buy any other day. Cute little trinkets, stuff animals and plushies surrounded her. She passed a little ballerina music box that tinkled out classical music. Despite all this, the fact that the pair of eyes drilling to the back of her head wanted her to shoplift killed everything.

Hinata sighed.

_Something small. _

_Something small._

_Very small._

_So small it's non existent. _

_Yeah…that would be nice…_

…_Where's Hanabi when I need her?_

These thoughts trailed through her mind before she stopped in front of a display. Tiny little anime figures stared up at her, each one attached to a small little rope. Cell phone figurines, she figured.

They were small.

Very small.

Hinata gulped and searched for the ugliest one. Perhaps it would lessen her guilt in knowing that she didn't steal anything worthwhile.

She searched and searched and almost gave up when she saw a small frog dangling from a piece of falling apart string. It had small sowed on button eyes, and would have looked cute had it not been so shabby. And dirty. It was falling apart, and didn't have an arm…

Hinata took a deep breath and reached for the frog.

She took it in her hands, feeling the yarn that the head was made of. The yarn seemed to soak up the sweat engulfing her hands.

Taking another deep breath, she slowly went for her sweater's pocket.

A couple more inches…

A hand grabbed her wrist and she found herself captured in a vice like grip.

"Were you going to steal this?"

Hinata blinked up at the sharp, dark eyes, almost seemingly black.

He scared her.

"I-I-I-I wasn't g-going t-too!" Hinata stuttered out. She pulled at her wrist, the frog dangling between the both of them.

The man studied her.

_Tearing up…blushing out of embarrassment…_

"You were."

"I-I wasn't! My f-friends were forcing me to d-do this be-because they s-said I was too n-nice!" Hinata blurted out, tears almost falling from her face.

Silence engulfed both of them. The little television behind the counter featured the countdown taking place right outside their door.

10…

"They don't seem like very good friends then." He let go of her wrist, but taking the charm along with him. She blinked and sniffed.

"They're my friends…they only want the best…"

5…

"Right. Shoplifting, that's the best…" he mumbled sarcastically. He rubbed his eyelids. It was a long day.

3…

"It is...I'm too nice…" Hinata mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. He smirked.

"No one can ever be too nice."

2…

"Sasuke! I got the shipment of frog wallets from—WHOA!" The blond man from nowhere tripped over a Internet cord connected to Sasuke's laptop.

He successfully pushed Sasuke onto the girl.

Sasuke tripped…

1…

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

…And kissed the girl?!

…

The blond stared.

And the two stayed in that position for a couple more seconds.

Hinata looked very tomato like now…

She pushed him away and turned around, running from the shop, tears of newfound embarrassment in her eyes.

The man blinked.

The blond blinked and dropped the box he was holding.

The music from the ballerina softly played in the background.

"Uh…Sasuke…what the hell was that?"

Sasuke touched his lips. Not his first one…

But it sure felt like it.

Sasuke coughed and pushed pass Naruto, the frog trinket dangling at his fingers.

"Yo, Sasuke, you gonna put that back?"

"Nah."

"Huh? Why?"

"A little memory for 2007."

Meeting #7: End.

**A/N: **Ugh, I kind of feel bad for falling into the "Sasuke and Hinata kissing for New Year's" thing. Ah, hoped you enjoyed this.

**Thank you for reading!**


	8. Park

Standard Disclaimer

Chance Meetings

#8: Park

She loved going to parks. To enjoy the sunshine, the fresh air, or simply watch the children play with their toys, pets, or parents. It was refreshing to get out after being stuck in her office the whole day. The deadline for the finished copy of _POW!_magazine was in two days, but Hinata, being the talented chief editor she was, got it finished today.

It was a bit disappointed to see that there wasn't anyone to congratulate her or at least say 'good job'. Well, what did she expect? Her family had firmly expected her to take after the pharmaceutical company that her sister was currently head of. When she uttered the words, 'fashion school' her decision was set and now, no one could utter her name without a long scolding from an elder…or her father.

Still, if freedom meant no form of communication whatsoever with her family, then she'd let it be. She was stressed nearly every week from work, true, but it was a good kind of stress. The kind you get when you're doing something you want to do, not something you're forced to do because you were born into a super rich family.

Besides, she liked being able to contribute to the media, being able to meet celebrities, and all that but still live a normal life without being horded by the paparazzi. Yeah, sure, they did visit her when she attended balls, openings, fashion shows…

But she was glad that she was at least able to enjoy this park without some random guy jumping out of a trashcan to "get a new scoop".

Sadly, she wasn't here to enjoy the park. Not personally, anyway. This was strictly business. She was going to interview the "latest hot hunk of the month" and do a four page interview.

Despite the fact that Hyuuga Hinata did have crushes on celebrities, Uchiha Sasuke was one she wanted to stay away from. She knew his type; the brooding, dark guy in the corner with hordes of fan girls chasing after him in every direction.

Her life was already depressing, she didn't need something else to add to her "The Very Sad Things in My Life" list. She admitted to her assitant, Ino, that the picture of Sasuke in _GQ_did bring out his eyes.

But, she decided, Uchiha Sasuke did not need another fan girl trailed after the edges of his coats or spluttering nonsense at his doorstep. He had enough of that.

This was strictly business.

She couldn't believe all the girls who whined to her about how much they wanted this position. But what could she do? His manager had personally sent her a message stating, "Sasuke-kun requested that you personally interview him Hinata-san. Could you?"

She felt bad for the guy. He sounded desperate to get rid of him.

But…

Hinata bit her lip.

She was slightly afraid that someone would recognize Sasuke when he came to the park. Then hordes of people would come, and maybe a paparazzi would catch them sitting together and then…

Bam. On the front cover of every tabloid in Japan, "Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke, LOVEBIRDS?"

Disgusting.

But, she was sure he had enough sense to bring a costume or something. She had enough sense to choose the most secluded spot available in the park!

Ugh, how she hated celebrities.

Oh, look, there's one now.

"Hello, Hinata-san."

She blinked and decided that it was a bad idea to silently insult (in her head!) a sought after bachelor when he was right in face.

"Ah, hello Uchiha-san."

"What's with the formalities? Just call me Sasuke," he said as he took a seat beside her. She silently scoffed at his "costume". A black trench coat and black jeans. Sunglasses. Talk about effort.

She clicked on her small voice recorder and said, "Let's get down to business. How's--," before she was cut off.

"Now, now, can't we chat a bit?" he asked, smirked. His arm was slung behind her and she resisted the earge to laugh cruelly.

So he thought he was so slick, eh?

She quickly clicked pause on her voice recorder and replied. "This is an interview, Uchiha-san. Not a chat."

"Sasuke-kun."

"What?" she blinked. He smirked.

"At least call me Sasuke-kun," he said, yawning a bit. He didn't use the arm slung behind Hinata to cover his mouth, to her disappointment.

"No, thanks," Hinata replied as polite as she could. "Could we move on?"

He looked offended for a moment before laughing at her cold stare.

"Wow, they meant it when they said Hyuuga Hinata was interested in me."

Hinata's jaw dropped and he continued.

"I'm betting 500 bucks on this that you'll fall for me by the end on this interview. I'm sure you heard of the famous director Uzumaki Naruto?"

Hinata's jaw (if possible) dropped even lower. It quickly snapped back and she, mild mannered Hyuuga Hinata, snapped at the celebrity.

"Excuse me?" she asked as coldly as she could.

_Think like Hanabi…_

"Look, I'm sorry that I didn't worship you from the moment you went on screen. I'm only interviewing you because your poor manager asked. I don't know what you're thinking, but I assure you, by the end of this interview, you'll just be another celebrity and I'll just be another editor looking for an article. Alright? So don't add me to the list of girls you had in your bedroom. It's pretty disgusting in my eyes," Hinata said carefully and politely.

_Well, Hanabi probably would have just flipped him off and walked away._

Throughout her tirade, Sasuke looked on with an amused expression.

"Alright, then. I guess I'll have to listen to the platonic Hyuuga Hinata then, don't I?" he answered with a chuckle.

"I'd be grateful in you did. Can we begin now?" she asked.

"Why not?"

For the next hour, the interview passed without incident. Sasuke finally behaved like a good celebrity should, and answered all her questions with reasonable answers.

It never crossed her mind that the "brooding Uchiha Sasuke" that was interviewed so many times before was nothing like the "Sasuke-san" that sat before her, giving her witty, sarcastic answers.

"Well then, I think we're finished." She stood up and was going to place her voice recorder into her purse when a hand pulled her back onto the picnic table they were sitting at.

His lips were very close to her ear.

"Now, Hinata-san, don't you think I was the one who asked my manager to be interviewed only by you and no one else? Do you know why? Because, setting aside that you're the only woman to talk to me like I'm human, you are also breathtakingly beautiful. Does that make sense? Even if you don't fall for me at the end of this interview, I can safely say one of us will."

She furrowed her eyebrows and turned her face, only to be met by a pair of lips.

Her eyebrows then shot up into her hair.

Afterwards, the man shot up, and walked away, calling behind his back—

"It was after the interview. You never said you wouldn't fall for me_after _the interview right?"

A week later, Hinata passed by a stand of tabloids.

Whatever she saw, it promptly made her faint and hit the floor pretty hard.

Meeting #8: End.

**A/N: **Now we have proof that I'm insane or possibly intoxicated. XD

**Thank you for reading! **


	9. Coffee House

Standard Disclaimer

Chance Meetings

#9: Coffee House

It started out with Sakura's concern for her. Apparently, she was getting heavier and darker bags under her eyes as the days past by. Being a defense lawyer was like that, she replied to Sakura's prodding. How could she understand? Hinata thought. She's a doctor…she doesn't have to argue against the diseases she fights! Still, through Sakura's persistence, and Hinata's inability to say no, Hinata found herself forced to "try out this coffee house! It has the best coffee and best service!"

Hinata didn't want to mention how Sakura had sounded awfully a lot like an ad when she said that. Being the docile creature she was, she "tried it out". She didn't like it. It was a nice place, but it wasn't for her. It was better fitting for people like Sakura; outgoing, loud, confident, and independent.

_I heard someone say, "If there is love, there is peace." One may agree with that, or not. _

To Hinata, the coffee house was a scary, uncomfortable place. It was brimming with business and couldn't be more crowded. Every time she went there, no matter the time nor day, it would be busy, loud, and completely in chaos. Some people liked that, but Hinata wasn't one of them. Sakura was.

If you read along those lines, Hinata was sugar to black coffee. Adding the flavor needed to make the black coffee and acceptable drink, but never really showing its face. Sakura was cream. Cream blended into the coffee like sugar, it mixed and changed the black coffee until it wasn't black coffee anymore. It would be sweet or sour, a latte or not.

How Hinata wanted to be like cream. Cream would always be seen, while sugar was in the background, definitely adding to the taste, but never to the looks.

_When I was in pain, you'd hold me close. It was in the warmth of those arms that I felt peace. _

In that retrospect, Hinata could no longer go to that coffee house. However, she would continue to drink coffee. She had found that she had become quite the addict. So, she went in search for the perfect coffee house. She did not want a commercial one, like Starbucks, or one of those "vintage" coffee houses that added these weird spices to add the "organic" taste to a typical drink. Hinata wanted a typical drink! She just wanted to be able to drink it in _peace_.

Shortly after search, she found it. It seemed to pop out of the ground, right in front of her, as if knowing she was on the brink of giving up and settling for store brought bags. It was dingy, it was dark, it was probably a vampire's lair, it was perfect. The coffee was perfect too. The only waiter, Kiba, was doggish in looks and attitude, and his attempts at "wooing" her made her laugh every time. The only owner, Shino, was quiet, and yet, at times when she felt down or needed to vent, he appeared at her table and asked, "Would you like more sugar?" Kiba appeared shortly after to tease Shino about being Hinata's "girlfriend".

_But when I stopped talking to you and closed my heart, this love was torn apart. _

How two men could make the one home she ever had, she would never know how. But they did, and she loved them for it. The coffee house was always empty, except for her, a regular who was very addicted, and the two men. Never having anyone else to serve, they would often sit at her table. Kiba would chatter, Shino would read. This went on for two months.

Then, someone came in.

_This time I won't let go of my heart, because the power of belief sets love free. _

He was handsome. He wore suits every time he came in. But he was scary, so Hinata kept her distance. He kept his. Despite the interruption, it was still comfortable. Shino and Kiba would go over to the man's table and talk. They seemed to know each other. Hinata didn't mind. Just because they were the only to customers didn't mean they had to speak.

_When you helped me as a friend, I imagined our future together. And though I saw the happiness ahead of us, I didn't see my issues. _

_Though our said promises would be our compass, we lost sight of the direction this love was going in. _

Then, one day, Hinata didn't pay attention. She had gotten too comfortable. She didn't notice him, she was pouring over her case before her. She was defending a young boy accused of raping his teacher. Terribly dark, too dark for such a sweet girl, said Sakura. Hinata shrugged. She had seen worse.

Deep into the evidence, looking over everything, not wanting to miss a chance at redemption, she didn't notice him hovering over her table with a cup.

"Do you have sugar?"

_Instead of waiting for a miracle, I want you to hold my hand. Because the power of belief will set me free. _

"Wah!" Coffee was spilt all over her folder and all she could do was stare in blunt shock. The man blinked and took bundles of napkins from a compartment on her table and handed them to her.

"Was it something important?"

Hinata blinked out of her daze ("The documents! The evidence!") and realized she had a copy at home. Actually she had four copies.

"Oh, no, I have another folder at home," Hinata replied, laughing nervously at her own clumsiness. He watched on as she slowly mopped up her mess and cleared her table. She glanced around the table and grabbed a small glass container of sugar.

"Here you go. Do you want some cream?" She asked politely. He blinked then smirked.

"No…it's not like you work here, you don't need to give me everything…" he trailed off. Hinata coughed, embarrassed, but being a lawyer, was able to hide it.

"You see, I rather not spoil my coffee with something like cream. I rather have my coffee have more flavor, not just turn a lighter color…" he walked away.

Shino, who was sitting at the counter, reading a book on astrophysics, gave a rare smile.

Hinata's mouth dropped slightly open, a sure sign for a lawyer that he or she was shocked. Beyond belief.

"Huh?" she mumbled. She glanced down at her coffee cup, nearly gone. After all, she poured a hefty amount onto her work. She glanced at the milky contents.

It looked tainted.

"Next, time, sugar," she mumbled thoughtfully to herself, not noticing the three pairs of ears listening to her. She packed her things, bid good day to her friends (_not _the rude guy in the corner) and headed out the door, a thoughtful look still on her face.

The owner and waiter of the store strolled over to the man's table, who was currently concentrating very hard on mixing the perfect amount of sugar into his black coffee.

"You know, I never would have thought you took the whole 'being nice to someone for one day won't kill you' think seriously," Kiba mumbled, a little embarrassed.

The man ignored them.

_You don't have to fear this love._

Shino blinked and looked out the window, at the small speck in the distance.

"I don't think he was being nice."

Hinata needed to realized that being like sugar, to one Uchiha Sasuke, was better than being like cream.

It's not like Sasuke needed someone to change him.

Meeting #9: End.

**A/N: **Inspired by my love for coffee and romance.

In the _italics _are the translated lyrics of the Japanese song, "This Love" by Angela Aki.

**Thank you for reading! **


	10. Diner

Standard Disclaimer

Chance Meetings

#10: Diner

The hot air swirled all around her and for the umpteenth time that day she wanted to kick something in frustration. She had never watched _Thelma & Louise _but she had a feeling that the ending wasn't like _this_.

She wasn't in a desert, like how it always is in the movies. She was in a well populated, sandless street. She wasn't driving a red convertible, like how it always is in the movies. She was driving a not-at-all boring Volvo. She was, however, very much so lost. To be honest, the scenery was beautiful. Old fashion lamps littered the street. Ma and Pop stores lined up all along in a row, and Hinata would have been ecstatic but…

She was lost.

She hated being without direction. Hinata wasn't completely map impaired but she wasn't a freaking GPS device either. Or, if she was, she was a really cheap, crappy one.

For the umpteenth time that day, Hinata turned her map into a full 360 degree. Maybe she'd finally see what everyone else claimed to see…you know, "directions". _Whoever invented maps is freaking stupid._

Hinata fell back onto her leather seat, playing with the radio dials for a moment. She had been holding this off the whole day…but she might as well get over her fear of unknown places, people, feelings, etc.

_Time to dive into the unknown_

Hinata stepped out of her car, lightly closing the door. She sighed, swung her messenger bag behind her, and pulled her baseball cap down. _Go Red Sox. _Hinata adjusted her bug eyed sunglasses and began walking down the street.

She passed venders, playgrounds, school, dentistry offices, and thousands of "vintage" clothing, antique and everything else stores. How "vintage" can you be when there is a store just down the street that sells the same things you do?

Hinata froze when she heard a large rumble.

Apparently, she was due for lunch.

So she strolled down the street looking for restaurants, or at least a McDonalds.

What she found was a diner.

So she entered.

--

"How can I help _you _beautiful?" the blond asked, waving his eyebrows up and down suggestively. Hinata blinked.

"…Are you talking to me?" Hinata asked, confused. A snort came from behind the counter but the blond showed no signs of embarrassment.

"Who else, lovely?" He bowed, very gentleman like, and kissed her hand. Hinata flushed despite her efforts.

"A-ah…"

"Just ask for her order, idiot." A wolfish man came out from behind the counter, wearing a stained black apron and a chef's hat. The words _Get the Hell out of my Kitchen _was crudely scribbled on the hat with an Expo marker.

Hinata slipped into a stool at the counter, still a little red, but it was because of the weather.

The blond jumped over the counter to show his manly strength only to bang his knee on said counter and flip over. The wolfish man kicked him while he was down. Hinata politely ignored this and flipped through the menu that was left at the counter.

Surprisingly, the food on the menu was very…high class. _Éclairs in a diner…that's the first._

"I'll just have a seafood salad," she told the wolfish man when he came with a pad and pen.

"Dieting? You don't need it."

Once again she could not control her cheek cells.

"Oh, and you call _me _a flirt," a voice drifted from the floor. The man turned around and kicked the blond again. She could see a nametag pinned to the back of the man's hat…

Kiba.

"It'll be done in a couple minutes."

When the wolfish man, or Kiba, went back through the swinging door, the blond magically appeared beside her.

"So, what brings you to this little village?" Hinata raised an eyebrow at the word "village".

"Just visiting my cousin…"

"Oh, really? Well, here, everybody knows everybody else. What's your cousin's name?" Hinata felt herself relax a bit. The man seemed so harmless, it was impossible not to.

"Hyuuga Neji."

The blond furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Sounds familiar." Without warning he hollered in the general direction of the kitchen. "Yo, KIBA! Do we know a Hyuuga Neji?"

No was the faint reply.

Hinata didn't know why she felt disappointed.

"Well, maybe he lives in the big city. You're probably just passing through, right?"

Hinata nodded.

"That explains it. Now…speaking of phone numbers…"

Kiba placed the plate in front of Hinata and calmly smacked the blond across the head.

"You were never talking about phone numbers dimwit."

The natural reply was a string of curses and an accusation that Kiba was eavesdropping.

Hinata smiled and munched on her salad, surprised by her hunger and how good the salad was. Who knew shrimp can fill you up? Kiba and the blonde's bickering voices eased Hinata's nerves and now she didn't really care that she was lost.

Oh, crap. She was lost.

"A-ano…do you guys know how to get to Warner?" she asked shyly. Kiba blinked, freeing the blond from the headlock.

The blond scratched his nose.

"Uh…I think you take a right on Bolsa…then go straight for two lights then--,"

"Idiot, it's a left on Bolsa and go straight for _three _lights!"

"Psh, I'm pretty sure it's a right. Besides, go straight for three whole lights and you'll be out of town completely!"

"Do you know anything, dead last?"

"Hey!"

Hinata watched on fearfully until she saw a hand reach over and take a napkin from the dispenser. She heard a click of a pen. She turned around to see a dark haired man bent over, scribbling something onto the napkin.

When he was done, he handed her the napkin, the directions to Warner written in perfect, fluid characters. He narrowed his eyes at the two other men who weren't aware of his presence. Yet.

"They're trying to impress you, you know."

Hinata's eyes furrows in confusion.

Then he was gone.

--

Two weeks later, Neji-niisan decided to introduce her to some of his law firm partners.

So she thanked him for the directions.

Meeting #10: End.

**Thank you for reading!**


End file.
